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Swiss federal authorities decided today to lift entry restrictions for people from most of the countries and regions that were on their blacklist, including Portugal.
Nationals or travelers from those countries no longer have to comply with a 10-day quarantine upon arrival, under penalty of a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (9,350 euros).
In deciding whether a state or area is at high risk of infection, new infections are considered per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days.
If the incidence in the country in question exceeds at least 60 in Switzerland, more than 760 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the most recent figures, the country is on the black list.
On September 25, Switzerland had expanded its list of countries with travelers subject to quarantine when they arrived on Swiss territory, including Portugal.
Switzerland had been relatively spared from the first wave of the pandemic in the spring, but for several weeks the number of daily cases has doubled weekly.
The authorities have already warned that, if the population does not make an effort, hospital structures can become congested in two weeks.
As of Thursday, October 29, “and for an indefinite period”, the discos and nightclubs are closed, while the restaurants and bars close at 23:00.
All events with more than 50 people and all non-professional sports and cultural activities with more than 15 people are prohibited.
Switzerland will also authorize rapid tests from 2 November.
“Nobody wants a second semi-definition,” stressed the federal president, Simonetta Sommaruga, when presenting the new measures.
In the case of neighboring France, only the Hauts-de-France, the capital and Polynesia regions remain on the list, meaning that the pandemic statistics there are worse than those in Switzerland.
Until today, only the border regions with Switzerland had been spared, due to the close mutual connections and the tens of thousands of inhabitants in France who make up an important part of the Swiss economy.
The list of countries and regions with conditional arrivals, which had dozens of names, was thus shortened and only includes the French regions mentioned, plus Andorra, Armenia, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
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